The Revitalized Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC) on Wednesday endorsed the extension of the transitional period for 24 months and the postponement of elections earlier scheduled for December 2024 to December 2026.
The endorsement was reached through a voting process in which 35 out of 41 consented to the extension and 6 abstained, including the Troika comprised of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Norway.
According to RJMEC Chairperson Amb. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai, with the majority of the vote, the extension of the transitional period and deferment of elections becomes the position of RJMEC.
“The number of parties present was 10, and those who have consented are 10. Other South Sudanese stakeholders, out of the 12 present, 9 consented, 2 abstained and 1 was absent,” he declared. “Meanwhile, out of the 3 regional guarantors, 12 members consented and one was late to vote. International friends of South Sudan, out of 7 present, 3 consented and 4 abstained. The total number of those who did not consent is 6 and the total number of those who consented is 35.”
Gen. Tai added: “I Amb. Maj. Gen. Charles Tai Gituai, Interim (RJMEC) Chairperson, do hereby declare the position of the RJMEC as 35 consented and 6 did not consent and the decision is the members of RJMEC have consented to the extension.”
According to the peace Monitoring body, the resolutions of the voting can be sent to the cabinet and later forwarded to the Transitional National Legislative Assembly for final endorsement.
However, the Troika and the European Union (EU) again unanimously abstained from endorsing the extension and described the extension as a total failure of the unity government to fulfill its commitment to the people of South Sudan.
This comes after the parties’ signatories to the peace agreement agreed to extend the elections from 22 December 2024 to December 2026, citing a lack of funds to implement the pending critical tasks.
However, according to U.S. Ambassador Michael J. Adler, the same reasons cited for this extension are the same reasons mentioned in the first extension. He said their argument for abstaining from endorsing the first extension has been proven by the government’s failure to conduct free, fair, democratic, and credible elections.
“The announcement of another extension of the transitional period marks the failure of South Sudan’s leaders to create the conditions necessary to hold genuine, peaceful, and inclusive elections,” he stated. “We are deeply disappointed by this failure because peace is our priority and we are convinced that the best way to secure peace in South Sudan is by creating the conditions to hold such elections.”
Amb. Adler added: “Despite significant international support, including identification of 10 key issues for decisions related to elections by the UN, the African Union, and IGAD, South Sudan’s political leaders have collectively failed to create the conditions necessary for such elections to take place.”
The US Ambassador said his country did not agree with the government’s excuse of saying there was no money for the implementation of the agreement but that there was a lack of political will to provide available resources.
“They (parties) have failed to make adequate public revenue available for electoral institutions, for security and civil service salaries, for basic services, or to mitigate the impacts of humanitarian crises. Our question then must be, what is the priority of South Sudan’s leaders?” Adler questioned. “We renew our call on them to demonstrate that their priority is their country and their people’s well-being. They have thus far repeatedly failed to do so. While we recognize elections cannot be held this year because of leadership failures, we cannot in good conscience endorse this extension because we are not prepared to endorse a status quo that prioritizes the privileges of the elite over the welfare of the South Sudanese people. Hence, we will abstain today.”
The public reaction to the extension —the second of its kind — has been mixed, with many South Sudanese expressing skepticism, describing the move as away aimed at maintaining power.